Devil-Worshipping METALLICA Fans Steal Skeletons For Thanksgiving Bash - Jan. 29, 2003
The following article appeared in today's edition of the New York Post:
Three Long Island teens removed decades-old remains from three cemetery crypts and dressed them up for a party - even putting a Darth Vader mask on one corpse, sources told The Post.
Michael Herz, 18, and Michael Sossi, 17, are accused of twice breaking into 250-year-old Cedar Grove Cemetery in Patchogue sometime around Thanksgiving. A third teen, Patrick O'Rourke, 19, is accused of involvement in the second break-in.
After the trio obtained an ossified body and two skulls, they allegedly brought them to a ghoulish Thanksgiving-weekend party at the home of a friend, Jessica Wess, 17, whose parents were in Manhattan seeing a play.
Police said Herz referred to the remains by the names on their crypts - "Elmer" was Elmer E. Grandin, who died in 1933, and "Eva" and "Jason" were Eva Adams Grandin, who died in 1928, and Jason Melvin Adams, who died in 1896.
The body of Elmer Grandin - an actor who appeared on Broadway and in some silent movies - was the only complete corpse involved, said Suffolk Detective Brian McMenemy.
"Herz dressed up the full body with glasses, and then they put a Darth Vader mask on him," McMenemy said.
Wess' mother said the girl was shocked that Herz and his friends brought the corpses to her house.
"My daughter freaked out, screaming at him to get them out of there," said Rose Wess.
The kids at the party are known as "Goths" - they dress in black, and some have body piercings and tattoos.
Wess' parents don't believe any Satanic rituals were involved.
"They are not into doing any kind of ritual thing," said Rose Wess. "It was more like a stupid prank. I know it sounds sick."
After the party, Herz dumped the bodies in a drainage ditch, cops said.
But in the following days, the youths couldn't help gloating ghoulishly about the party and how they had "disassembled" the skeletons, authorities said.
A classmate said that at one point, Herz "had one skeleton under his bed and one in the trunk of his car."
Teachers heard Herz's boasts.
"He was bragging about how he broke into crypts and stole bodies," McMenemy said. "The teachers asked him, 'Don't you realize this is wrong? This is a crime?' He didn't care."
The teachers didn't believe the story, so they checked with the cemetery - which confirmed that the graves had been vandalized.
The teachers then called cops.
Herz and Sossi were arrested Dec. 1, and in the following days, cooperated with police.
"On a rainy Friday the 13th, with a full moon, Herz showed us the drainage ditch where he dumped the corpses," said McMenemy. "You can't make this up."
The cemetery respectfully reinterred the bodies.
Nobody has been able to locate any relatives of those whose bodies had been dug up.
"These people were buried so far back in time, I don't know if they have any descendants living around here," said Fred Swezey, superintendent of the 15-acre cemetery.
Herz and Sossi were charged with cemetery desecration, opening graves and body stealing - all felonies. They pleaded not guilty. O'Rourke faces one count of receiving a stolen body.
The suspects are free on bail.
Herz's lawyer, William Keahon, described his client as "a very nice young man," and insisted he "took no part in the incident that is alleged. He has no knowledge of this incident whatsoever."
Sossi's attorney, Dan Dolewski, did not return calls for comment. A female neighbor said the teen "made a lot of noise. He's not a very nice kid."
A classmate described Herz and Sossi as "scary," and said the two "listen to METALLICA, dress in black and look like they worship the devil."
Rose and John Wess said it was weeks before their daughter discussed what happened at the party.
"It's just appalling," Rose Wess said. But, she added, "They are basically good kids."
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my input?
DAMN SATANIC MUSIC!
The following article appeared in today's edition of the New York Post:
Three Long Island teens removed decades-old remains from three cemetery crypts and dressed them up for a party - even putting a Darth Vader mask on one corpse, sources told The Post.
Michael Herz, 18, and Michael Sossi, 17, are accused of twice breaking into 250-year-old Cedar Grove Cemetery in Patchogue sometime around Thanksgiving. A third teen, Patrick O'Rourke, 19, is accused of involvement in the second break-in.
After the trio obtained an ossified body and two skulls, they allegedly brought them to a ghoulish Thanksgiving-weekend party at the home of a friend, Jessica Wess, 17, whose parents were in Manhattan seeing a play.
Police said Herz referred to the remains by the names on their crypts - "Elmer" was Elmer E. Grandin, who died in 1933, and "Eva" and "Jason" were Eva Adams Grandin, who died in 1928, and Jason Melvin Adams, who died in 1896.
The body of Elmer Grandin - an actor who appeared on Broadway and in some silent movies - was the only complete corpse involved, said Suffolk Detective Brian McMenemy.
"Herz dressed up the full body with glasses, and then they put a Darth Vader mask on him," McMenemy said.
Wess' mother said the girl was shocked that Herz and his friends brought the corpses to her house.
"My daughter freaked out, screaming at him to get them out of there," said Rose Wess.
The kids at the party are known as "Goths" - they dress in black, and some have body piercings and tattoos.
Wess' parents don't believe any Satanic rituals were involved.
"They are not into doing any kind of ritual thing," said Rose Wess. "It was more like a stupid prank. I know it sounds sick."
After the party, Herz dumped the bodies in a drainage ditch, cops said.
But in the following days, the youths couldn't help gloating ghoulishly about the party and how they had "disassembled" the skeletons, authorities said.
A classmate said that at one point, Herz "had one skeleton under his bed and one in the trunk of his car."
Teachers heard Herz's boasts.
"He was bragging about how he broke into crypts and stole bodies," McMenemy said. "The teachers asked him, 'Don't you realize this is wrong? This is a crime?' He didn't care."
The teachers didn't believe the story, so they checked with the cemetery - which confirmed that the graves had been vandalized.
The teachers then called cops.
Herz and Sossi were arrested Dec. 1, and in the following days, cooperated with police.
"On a rainy Friday the 13th, with a full moon, Herz showed us the drainage ditch where he dumped the corpses," said McMenemy. "You can't make this up."
The cemetery respectfully reinterred the bodies.
Nobody has been able to locate any relatives of those whose bodies had been dug up.
"These people were buried so far back in time, I don't know if they have any descendants living around here," said Fred Swezey, superintendent of the 15-acre cemetery.
Herz and Sossi were charged with cemetery desecration, opening graves and body stealing - all felonies. They pleaded not guilty. O'Rourke faces one count of receiving a stolen body.
The suspects are free on bail.
Herz's lawyer, William Keahon, described his client as "a very nice young man," and insisted he "took no part in the incident that is alleged. He has no knowledge of this incident whatsoever."
Sossi's attorney, Dan Dolewski, did not return calls for comment. A female neighbor said the teen "made a lot of noise. He's not a very nice kid."
A classmate described Herz and Sossi as "scary," and said the two "listen to METALLICA, dress in black and look like they worship the devil."
Rose and John Wess said it was weeks before their daughter discussed what happened at the party.
"It's just appalling," Rose Wess said. But, she added, "They are basically good kids."
----------------------
my input?
DAMN SATANIC MUSIC! 
